Microsoft Word - Environmental benefits of recycling 2010 update.doc

3.3 Plastics

3.3.1 Presentation

According to the Association of European Plastics Manufacturers (APME, now called PlasticsEurope), in 2000
municipal solid waste (MSW) was the primary source of plastic waste and around 70% of waste plastics disposed
of through households consisted of packaging. It is important to keep in mind that the plastic waste fraction is
very heterogeneous as the number of plastic types is significant. Some plastic types and their application are
reported below:

Table 23 Some plastic types and their applications

Type Use

PET bottles, carpets and food packaging

HDPE bottles for detergents, food products, pipes and toys

LDPE cling‐film, bin liners and flexible containers

PP yoghurt and margarine pots, auto motive parts, fibres, milk crates

PVC window frames, flooring, pipes, wallpaper, bottles, medical products

PU coatings, finishes, mattresses and vehicule seating

Epoxy adhesives, sports equipement, electrical and automotive components

Phenolic ovens, toaster, automotive parts and circuit boards

Thermoplastics

Thermoset

According to the APME, high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP)
and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) represent 86% of all plastics packaging (APME, 2001). Due to their
important volumes in MSW and recyclability, PE/PP and PET are the main focus of specific collection and recycling
programmes. In most European countries, the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in bottling applications has been
progressively replaced by PET. PVC continues to be used and recycled widely in other applications.

In order to compare the various end-of-life alternatives for plastics, a total of eight publications have been
selected and are presented in the following table. The types of plastics assessed are polyethylene [PE],
sometimes divided into high density polyethylene [HDPE] and low density polyethylene [LDPE], polyethylene
terephthalate [PET], polypropylene [PP], polystyrene [PS] and polyvinyl chloride [PVC]. Some scenarios also
consider a mix of plastics types [MIX].
Table 24 Presentation of the selected studies for plastics
Study
number
Title Main author Year
Geographical
scope

1

Bilan environnemental de filières de traitement

de plastiques de différentes origines

(Environmental assessment of treatment channels

of plastics of different origins)

BIOIS 2006 France

(^2) plasticsLCA^ of^ management^ options^ for^ mixed^ waste^ Shonfield 2008 UK
3 Life^ Cycle^ Assessment^ of^ energy^ from^ solid^ waste Finnveden 2000 Sweden

4

A life cycle assessment of mechanical and

feedstock recycling options for management of

plastic packaging wastes

Perugini 2005 Italy

5

LCA: a tool for evaluating and comparing

different treatment options for plastic wastes

from old television sets

Dodbiba 2007 Japan

6 Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases US EPA 2006 USA

7

Report for Life Cycle Assessment for paper and

packaging waste management scenarios in

Victoria

Grant 2001 Australia

8

Kunststoffe aus nachwachsenden Rohstoffen:

Vergleichende Ökobilanz für Loose‐fill‐Packmittel

aus Stärke bzw. Polystyrol

(Plastics from renewable resources: Comparative

LCA for loose‐fill packaging materials made from

starch and polystyrene)

BIfA/IFEU/

Flo‐Pak

2006 Germany